Humidity control for bakeries

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Humidity control for bakeries

Bread and humidity

Humidity control in bakeries is crucial for achieving consistent dough quality, optimal yeast fermentation, desirable crust formation, extended shelf life, and a conducive baking environment. It ultimately contributes to the production of high-quality, delicious baked goods.

Humidity control in bakeries is essential for maintaining optimal conditions in the bakery environment. Excessive humidity can lead to the growth of mold and spoilage of ingredients, while low humidity can result in ingredient dehydration and affect the overall quality of baked goods. Additionally, humidity control helps prevent equipment corrosion and malfunction, ensuring the longevity and efficiency of bakery machinery.

Dust control techniques are employed to minimize the negative impacts of dust. These can include health hazards, environmental pollution, reduced visibility, equipment malfunction, and safety hazards. These techniques aim to either prevent the formation of dust or mitigate its dispersion.

4 steps in the baking process where humidity control is important:

1: Dough consistency:

Humidity affects the moisture content of the dough during the baking process. If the humidity level is too high, the dough can become sticky and difficult to handle. On the other hand, low humidity can cause the dough to dry out, resulting in poor texture and flavor. Controlling humidity ensures consistent dough consistency, leading to better quality baked goods.

2:Yeast fermentation:

Yeast plays a vital role in the baking process as it helps the dough rise and develop flavor. It is highly sensitive to changes in humidity. High humidity can cause excessive yeast activity, resulting in over-fermentation and a gummy texture. Conversely, low humidity can slow down yeast activity, leading to under-fermentation and dense products. Proper humidity control ensures optimal yeast fermentation, contributing to light and airy baked goods.

3: Crust formation:

Humidity affects crust development during baking. Higher humidity levels in the oven can delay crust formation, resulting in pale and soft crusts. On the other hand, low humidity can lead to excessive crust formation, creating a thick and overly crispy exterior. By controlling humidity levels, bakers can achieve the desired texture, color, and crispness of the crust.

4: Shelf life and texture:

Humidity control also influences the shelf life and texture of baked goods. In a high-humidity environment, products like bread and pastries can quickly become stale and lose their desirable texture. On the contrary, low humidity can cause products to dry out and become hard. Maintaining appropriate humidity levels helps preserve freshness and extend the shelf life of baked goods.

 

Solution: Humidification control with Dry Fog

Control your humidity levels accurately with AKIMist®. An energy-efficient and compact solution. It is both available in a wall-hanging and a portable model and easy to install. AKIMist® is known for being non-wetting due to its tiny droplet size around 7.5 µm.  Thanks to the small size of the Dry Fog humidifier AKIMist® (~5 inch), it can easily fit in a tight room or under a low ceiling. AKIMist® can either be mounted to the wall or ceiling with our easy installation kits. A portable version is also available. 

Advantages of AKIMist® Dry Fog humidification for bread baking

01Control the rising process

By adding humidity control, the rising process of the dough can better be controlled. 

02Increased shelf life

Humidity control leads to a longer shelf life as they will not dry out or lose their texture as fast.  

03Keeps the dough moist

Humidity control ensures to keep the dough moist so that it does not dry out or become sticky. 

04Non-wetting

Due to its tiny droplet size around 7.5 µm, the droplets will bounce back and evaporate without bursting.  

05Energy efficient

AKIMist® uses 80% less energy than conventional humidification equipment which makes it very cost-efficient. 

06Compact

AKIMist® is extremely compact (5 inch) and easily fits into a small room.

07Full control

AKIMist® puts you in full control of the humidity level in your growing room and can be automated with a sensor. 

08Low maintenance

When used with purified water, AKIMist® requires very little maintenance

09Japanese quality

AKIMist® has been developed and produced in-house in Japan which ensures the highest standards in quality and reliability.  

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Download our AKIMist® catalog to learn more about the technology behind Dry Fog

Disinfection of cooling room and storage

    • The temperature will rise in the room when fresh-baked bread is left there
    • Avoid mold growth during cooling and storage.
    • By spraying alcohol through spray nozzles installed in the cooling duct, the room is disinfected and mold is avoided.
    • The BIMK series is a hollow cone pneumatic spray nozzle.
    • It produces fine atomization with a mean droplet diameter of 100 µm or less.

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